Plain Sight

Mark 6:48 And having seen that they were troubled and tormented in (their) rowing, for the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night (between 3:00-6:00am)  He came to them, walking (directly) on the sea.  And He acted as if He meant to pass by them.

Have you ever wondered where Jesus was in the midst of your storm?  Have you ever looked around to see if you could spot Jesus’ hand in anything around you?  Have you ever just sat alone and cried out for God, but still not knowing if He truly was there?

I have done all of these things, and maybe even most of them this week, but in Mark 6:48 we have the answer to those questions, as well as many others I am sure we can come up with.

You see, the disciples had just had a big day with Jesus, handing out fish and bread to way over five thousand men, not counting woman and children, and as I would surmise were on a miracle high.

They had just went through such extremes of emotions from feeling lost, confusion, hopeless, helpless, worried and probably anxious at how to feed all of these people, who have come to listen to Jesus speak. 

The disciples then after listening to Jesus, and watching Him bless and give thanks to God for the two fish and five loaves of bread, watched the baskets overflow with fish and bread. 

Overflow… Overflow… Abundance… aren’t we to have an abundance mentality, an overflow mentality?

The disciples had so much of the food left over, that Jesus commanded them to pick up the scraps, which totaled to over twelve baskets. 

Now, after seeing and living through all of this I would think that the disciple’s feet weren’t touching the ground from the high that they were on.  The God high they were experiencing, I would assume is the only good high we should have in life!

They all got into the boat and began their travels across to the other side.  Jesus had told them to go ahead of Him, so that He could spend time with God, praying and being still.  I personally think that He needed a recharge be restored from God, from the day’s events.  

As Jesus was on the mountaintop, He noticed that the disciples were in trouble.  That they were in harm’s way and that they were fearful. 

Now, let’s stop right there.  He noticed? How did He notice?  Let’s remember that He was on the mountain top for a long time, an extended period of time.  He was up there so long that the fourth watchman had come on duty, which the Bible says means it was between three and six am. 

I would feel very confident in saying, and believing that the distance they had traveled away from Jesus was great.  Meaning, Jesus wasn’t able to “see” them with His earthly vision.  Jesus wasn’t looking from the mountain top, and even with binoculars , wasn't able to see them struggling in the storm.

This made me stop for a moment and think.  I know that God is everywhere, He is all knowing and He can see, hear and think everything that we are, but when I read tonight that Jesus could see that the disciples were in trouble, I thought, well that’s not possible, because they are so far away from Him at this point.

Then I thought, yes, but I am reading about Jesus here, and Jesus is not like you and me.  Jesus has all the same abilities that God has, and since God is all knowing, all seeing and all being, than so is Jesus.

This then gave me another thought… the disciples never called for Jesus.  It’s not like they had a cell phone, and could text Jesus, hey, we need some help over here, if you are done praying can you come save us.  No, they had no way to physically connect to Jesus; so again, Jesus had to be able to “see” them, to know they were in trouble.

What relief this should bring to our hearts and minds. 

This should take a load of burdens, worries, anxieties and fears off of us and hand them right back to satan, where they originated.  This means, get this, if Jesus was able to see the disciples when they were in need of Him, He can see us when we are in need of Him.

Jesus can come to us, like He did to the disciples, by way of water walking I must add, before we even come to Him.  Jesus, can sense, see, feel or know that we are in trouble, in danger or in some kind of distress, and that we need Him, before we even know we need Him.

How amazing is that!  How awesome is that!  What ease does that put on your heart!

Knowing the creator of the universe has it covered, before you even know there is anything that needs to be covered.

I love that in Mark 6:48 it says that He came to them!  He came to them!  He walked right over to them, and though it seemed as if He was going to walk right by them, He still came for them.

How many times do you think that Jesus came for you, before you let Him in? 

I can’t even begin to count the times that I knew I needed to surrender my life to God and allow Him to be the head of my life.  I don’t think I can count that high. 

There have been many times in my life where I knew God was calling me, I knew that He had placed people in my life on purpose to help bring me to Him, but yet, I continued on my own path, on my own boat. 

But He never stopped coming for me. 

He never stopped watching and coming for me when I was in storms.   Jesus never turned His head or hand to me when I was in the storms of my life, and He never will for you either.

In Mark 6:48 we see that the Jesus, the Lord, the Savior, that we have all closed our ears too, our eyes too and have hardened our hearts too, is watching over us, and sees when we are in danger.  That should be enough to fall to your knees right now and accept Him for just that!

Jesus, that wonderful, selfless inspiration of a human being is watching over you, He is guarding you and keeping you safe.   And though storms, waves and wind might come against you, Jesus is always there on top of the mountain watching you, getting ready to walk on water directly to where you are!! 

Will you be so bold as to meet Him half way?  He will be there waiting for you…  As He will already see you coming!

 

Obedience

We are all very familiar with the story of the two fish and the five loaves of bread.  We all know that story and it is probably one of our go to stories when we need to speak of Jesus and His abilities to perform miracles.

You know the bigger the better! 

So go big with feeding over 5,000 men with two fish and five loaves of bread.  This story is, I would believe one of the most popular Bible stories, and well deserving of its place.

There are many lessons you can take from reading Mark 5: 39-42, many lessons, but the first one that stuck out to me tonight was Mark 5:39.

Then He commanded the people all to recline on the green grass by companies. 

Hmmm.   A little bit odd to me, a little bit left of center, and though I am sure Jesus had a reason, thought, they are not always clear to me.   I truly believe that sometimes Jesus calls people to do things, kind of in a Simon says way, and that’s how He tests them.

You know the game, Simon says sit down, so you sit down, but if you just say sit down, and you do it, you are out of the game.   I personally never liked this game.  Yes, control issues! 

I think that Jesus played a very watered down version of this game, and not for His personal satisfaction, though, I am sure He had a laugh or two from time to time.  I think Jesus called people to do things, they don’t necessarily understand, to see if they will do it.

After reading Mark 5:39 the very first thing I thought was of obedience.  I then wrote obedience in my Bible underneath this verse.  I personally struggle with obedience, while I am a lot better than I have been, I am still not moving as quickly as I hope too.

When Jesus had finished His conversation with the disciples about how they were going to feed the masses, He then sent them out to find food.  They returned with a little boy’s lunch of two fish and five loaves of bread.    The disciples then presented their findings to Jesus, I believe they presented their findings in a well, this is all we can do, so what are we going to do now, kind of way.

Jesus then approved of the findings and began blessing the fish and bread… but first, everyone must sit down, and not just sit down, they need to sit in companies.  They needed to be separated into groups of fifty to one hundred, as we see in Mark 5:40.

Again, I as I said earlier, there are so many lessons to be found in just a few verses, so please don’t overlook the fact that Jesus used the lunch of a young child, whom wasn’t fit enough to be counted in the five thousand.  Huge, lesson here to be seen is that God will call the uncounted people to work through, to bless and to prompt a mighty change that will bring glory and honor to His name.

Before Jesus begins to bless the fish and bread, He commanded the people to all recline on the green grass by companies.  Now, we can only imagine what the companies looked like.   Were they small families, were they single people, older people, people who were there early, or were they paired off into groups by their beliefs. 

We don’t know, well maybe you do, but nowhere in these verses do I see an answer for the companies.  

But what I do see is obedience.

We all know that without faith it is impossible to please God.  We all know that faith is an action word.  It’s not a throw away word.  Faith is an action, it’s usually not a feeling, well not a first, but it is something that you must do on purpose. 

So when the masses of over five thousand were told to sit down, what do you think they did, they sat down.

Have you ever been to a professional sporting event and have had someone over the intercom tell the crowd what to do? I have, many times, and many times, I have seen the words or request of the person fall on deaf ears. 

Many times people will do what they want to do and when they wanted to do it.  So, why here do we see that the people all sat down, or reclined as the text says.  Because as we also see, Jesus commanded it.   This wasn’t a request, this was a commandment.

Jesus was setting up a requirement for obedience so that He could then preform His miracle.  He needed everyone to take the step of faith, to make faith alive and in action, so that He could then respond.

I would believe that if the people would not have sat down, we would not have seen Jesus take the two fish and five loaves of bread and feed over five thousand men, to satisfaction (verse 42).

Jesus is doing the same things with us, on a daily basis.  Yes, maybe it is not on a grand scale as feeding over five thousand people, but maybe it’s something small He is asking you to do, like put your cart away, or open the door for the older person, or maybe as simple as saying hello to a stranger, but either way, He is commanding us to do it, so how should we respond, by doing it.

Jesus is testing us, just like He tested the more than five thousand.  He is testing us to see if we are able to listen to His command and then heed them.  Jesus will continue to ask you the same question over and over again, until you answer Him, by the way. 

He will continue to command you to shake people’s hands at church, and until you submit and preform the command He is giving you, you will not see the fruit of your obedience.

When the over five thousand reclined on the green grass, they were submitting to the command of Jesus, and by doing so, they are putting themselves in the position to receive the fruit of their obedience, which they did, in a very grand way.

Keep in mind, not all of our fruits will come in a grand gesture or in some huge proclamation of our obedience.  Usually, it comes in small whispers, in small nudges or small blessings that can be hard to see, or go completely unnoticed, and then you wonder, wait, I was obedient to your command, shouldn’t I have seen something in return?  Shouldn’t I have felt something change, break or open in my life. 

The answer is yes, but just as the five thousand were obedient and sat down when told to; they were also obedient in waiting for the deliverance of their blessing. 

Like I said in the beginning, so many lessons, truths and life changing moments in these verses, but for today, let’s all just recline on the green grass and wait on the Lord to show us the rest!

Seized with fear...

Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing. 

While this does sound like a wonderful lyric from an old Journey song, it actually is part of a verse from Mark 5:36.

I personally struggle with fear, anxiety and worry.  I will do these three things daily, until Jesus heals me of this, or shows me how He wants me to overcome these attacks, but anyway, today this scripture presented itself in my life, only hours after, I had indeed been seized with alarm and struck with fear.

I have been believing for several months, some days are harder than others, for a relationship that I believe God has given to me, to be healed and restored.  I have been pretty diligent about praying and trying my best to be positive, and believing and adhering to the words that the Holy Spirit has given to me.

Again, some days are harder than others, and today, while it was a normal day, it turned into a moment or moments that became extremely difficult.

Every week I go and spend time with a Christian counselor and discuss things from my past and current events.  We will talk and share about God, then pray and begin our “sessions” as she likes to call them.   I have noticed a rise in my attacks from satan recently and so we are focusing, with God’s help, on spiritual warfare and how I can resist and more importantly, fight back against satan. 

Today as we were entering into one of our sessions, she was praying for God to be with us, and for Him to reveal things to me that He wants us to look at and heal from.  In the midst of this prayer I hear whispered to me, he is not coming because he is leaving this earth.

Immediately, I interrupted her praying and said out loud what I had just heard.  At this point my heart has just begun to beat a little faster, and I can feel my breathe becoming shallow, and quicker.   I could feel in that instant my body tense up, and tears beginning to form in my eyes. 

I was struck, seized, overtaken, whatever word you want to use, with the fear that something had, or was getting ready to happen to my loved one.   I could physically feel the fear winning and taking over my body.  I could feel the ability to stay calm and rational leaving, and being replaced with panic and a lack of control on reality.

If you have ever been afraid, I mean afraid, you will understand all of these feelings.  If you have ever had that one phone call that changes your life, you understand exactly what I am feeling in that moment. 

I am so thankful that in that moment, one that happens to me quite often, but in different ways, I was with my counselor, and she was able to immediately pray for protection over me, and more importantly over my loved one.   I also then spoke back to satan, who we both believe was trying to distract me, the only way he knows how, to stop me from hearing from God. 

I hate to say but in those five to ten minutes, it worked. 

So interesting enough, when I start reading in Mark 5 I come across verse 36 that says “Overhearing” but  ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing.

I read this and thought, this was me, just a few hours ago!  I understand this verse, this feeling and this statement, because I was all of these things today, and shamefully, at many other times in my life.

I realized or had my feelings confirmed that today’s events were truly to stop me from sharing time, words, and emotions with God.  To keep me from advancing in the call that God has placed on my life.  This moment was to keep me tethered to my fear, and to satan himself. 

This is not how I want to live, nor how Jesus wants me to life.  This is not how you should live either!! 

Thankfully in that moment Jesus did what we should all expect Him to do, He rescued me. 

He revealed Himself in a mighty way, and allowed the thing that satan tried to do to me to hold me back, and made it work for good.   I allowed, and please notice I said allowed, the Holy Spirit to comfort me and guide me.  I asked for help and I spoke all of these things out loud.

I accepted the peace that Jesus was giving me, and I also asked Jesus to give me clarity on the situation, so that I can learn for future attacks.   I did, to the best of my ability, what verse 36 says, keep on believing.

There are moments when fear attacks us, stops us in our tracks and proceeds to dump horrible thoughts into our minds, and we allow that to happen.  We allow satan to use our minds, hearts and lives, as his personal junk yard, and fill us with thoughts God would never give us. 

We then take it a step farther, we then believe them.

I did… for a moment, today, I believed the lies from satan.  I believed the lies over the promises.  I believed myths over facts and I believed satan over Jesus. 

We have all done this, we have all one way or another, have fallen victim to the cunning lies of satan and all we can do in those times, are exactly what verse 36 says, keep on believing.

When you choose to believe what the Holy Spirit has told you, or what the Bible says, over the lies of the enemy you are doing just that… believing.

It doesn’t take any more energy to believe God over satan, but what it does do is saves you from precious stolen time.  I lost time today.  I lost precious time with God that I will never have back.  I let my emotions get out of hand and worse yet, I allowed satan to be the one who played me like a yo yo.

We have the ability to fight back against evil.  WE have the ability to stand firm in our faith and our truth.  We have what it takes to stand and keep believing because we have Jesus. 

Jesus is our truth, He is our witness, He is our guardian and He is what we should be placing our lives, beliefs and trust in, not our emotions, not our surroundings and most certainly not the lies that the enemy brings. 

The Bible tells us, Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing and this my friends, is the truth and the life!  

Just the way you are!!!

Do you have a laundry list of things you want to fix, change, renew or begin for your life?  Do you have a list of things you need to do before the beginning of the New Year? 

You are not unlike many people we see every day.  Most of us have a list running in our heads, or if you are like me, you make a list for what you want to achieve, change, renew or get rid of.  I personally have lists for my lists and keep them with me in my phone.  

If you saw the lists they probably wouldn’t make any sense to you, as they are personal to me.  You would see Bible verses that have been written into a list.  You would see a shopping list, and then a list of things I would like to purchase, but honestly never do.  You would find my list from God.  You would find the words and direction that God has given to me, and you would find lists I’ve made for the people I love, to remember important things about them.

I personally think that these kinds of lists are perfectly fine, and are ways to help channel our thoughts, feelings and ideas.  I think that when you are in a season of change, keeping lists helps facilitate the change.  It’s like acknowledging to God what you know is broken, and asking for Him to help fix it, but in a one through ten kind of way.

In Mark 4:36 we see another phrasing that stopped me immediately after re-reading it from last night.  It opened my eyes in another way.  It always amazes me how I can read something and then re-read it and get a completely different meaning or understanding from the same words. 

Tonight’s ohhhh I see moment was brought from the phrase, (just) as He was. 

Now, this is referring to Jesus and how He was in the boat as they were traveling to the other side, from the large group of people gathered to hear Jesus speak.  Jesus was now leaving and traveling to the other side, when we see in verse 36 these four words.

Just as He was.

This is so good!  This is life changing for some people, including me!  This is packed with such promise, and hope that I think is easy to miss.

Just as He was.  I know this reference is to Jesus, but you see the Bible is created by words that are alive, and ever changing, thanks to the Holy Spirit.  Just as He was, is a reference to how they were taking Jesus, and how Jesus will take us!!

Jesus, my friends, doesn’t need you to complete all the lists in your phone, or in your mind.  Jesus doesn’t need you to lose ten pounds, or stop smoking, or even to stop doing drugs, before you come to Him.  He will accept you Just the way you are!

This is so good!  This gives us the ability to say to ourselves, its ok I am a mess.  It’s okay if my heart is broken, and I am sad.  It’s okay if I have been doing drugs and have no direction in my life… its okay!

Why is it okay? 

Because He, Jesus, will take you just how you are! 

Jesus doesn’t want to be the reward at the end of your to do list, Jesus wants to give you the list.  He wants to take your hand and walk you through the things that He thinks you need to fix.  The things that He knows you are struggling with, and then He will give you the ways to do it!  He will walk you through your healing, your struggle and bring you to the other side.

Yes, I know this all sounds so easy and pain free.  Its sounds too good to be true, like it’s a hoax or a scam.  I know, I thought the same thing too.  These are lies that we believe to keep us from surrendering our lives to Jesus.  From accepting the free gift of life that He has given to all of us.

Satan doesn’t want you to finish your before I come to Jesus list, so that list will keep getting bigger, or will never even be started.   That’s why it is so wonderful to know that we never have to be fixed to come to Jesus.  

Actually, we can’t be fixed to come to Jesus, because Jesus is where we get our healing from. 

Jesus is where the fixing, the help ,and the salvation come from.  We are not capable to ever pay or atone for our sins, which is why we needed a Savior, hence Jesus.  

When you put off accepting Jesus because you are making or have made bad decisions in your life, you are putting off accepting the only thing that can make all of those things right.

Jesus is the only way you will ever be healed from your abusive past.  Jesus is the only way that you can find the ability, through His strength, to stop doing drugs or abusing your body with wrong decisions.

These four words should give your heart hope and your soul freedom.  To know that the pressure to have a forgiven life, where your sins are washed clean and they are forgotten and remembered no more, has to give you hope for a better future.  It has to stir something inside of you that says I want that.   I know it did ,and still does for me.

When you say to yourself, I need to fix this, or that about myself before I come to Jesus, you are saying you are a big enough sacrifice to save yourself from all the sins and poor decisions you have made in your life.   I am sorry to tell you that is just not true.  There is not one person on this earth, or has ever been on this earth, other than Jesus Christ Himself, that is capable of taking your sins, and mine, and washing them white as snow, with His blood.

Now is the time, your list, while it may be a long one, will never be completed, because you are not capable on your own to complete it, so stop trying.  Stop listing your faults and your failures and start asking for Jesus instead.

Stop looking for your freedom, help and relief in another pill, another line, or another drink.  You will never find your freedom in any of those things, but you will, I promise you, find your freedom when you say to Jesus, please, take me just as I am!

He will hear you and I know for a fact, because it has happened to me, He will take you exactly the way you are, and He will make you into a person you never imagined you could be. 

There isn’t a to do list long enough to list all the amazing things Jesus will do, when you allow Him to take you just the way you are!

 

They took Him with them...

Have you ever been in a really bad storm, one that left you wondering what had happened to the place that you are so familiar with.  A storm that throws trees around like twigs and knocks down houses, and tosses cars from here to there? 

I have been very fortunate to not witness, with my own eyes, the storm in the midst of its reign, but I have seen the aftermath of horrible storms.  I have seen trees turned upside down, with their roots exposed.  The mighty tree that has been adhered to the ground for probably hundreds of years, toppled over like it was a mere limb.

What I can recognize or connect too about a storm, is whether it is a storm that is physically thrashing about, or an emotional storm, the turmoil and anguish, I think are all the same.

I know I have been in storms where hail, thunder, lightning and wind had all been so ferocious and fearful, that I would begin my thought process of a safe place to hide with my dogs and my essentials.  I know that I would also call on the name of Jesus in those times, but what I have just come to realize is, I called on the name of Jesus when the storm was already here. 

I reached out for Jesus when the winds were already raging and threatening. 

I was in the midst of the storm, when I would cry out for help.   I wonder why I never asked for help, or protection before the storm hit.  Maybe, when the sky was starting to look threatening or the wind was just beginning to pick up, why didn’t I pray then?

In Mark 4:36-41 we see the disciples doing the same thing with Jesus.

(36) And leaving the throng, they took Him with them, (just) as He was, in the boat (in which He was sitting), and other boats were with Him. (37) And a furious storm of wind (of hurricane proportions) arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled. (38) But He (Himself) was in the stern (of the boat), asleep on the (leather) cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we are perishing? (39) And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush Now! Be still (muzzled)!  And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was (immediately) a great calm (a perfect peacefulness). (40) He said to them, Why are you so timid and fearful? How is it that you have no faith (no firmly relying trust)? (41) And they were filled with great awe and feared exceedingly and said one to another, who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?

Could you imagine being the disciples and watching Jesus sleep, peacefully during a storm of that magnitude?  Could you imagine the confusion that would bring to your mind?  I mean truly, here is the Son of Man, sleeping in the boat while the waves are crashing around you.  How is that possible, I would wonder, I don’t know about you, but it would certainly have me asking some questions, and maybe not thinking as clearly as I should be, because I would be in fear.

I wish Mark would have told us how long they waited to wake up Jesus, and if they were afraid too.  I wonder if they were just astonished with the fact that Jesus wasn’t bothered by the storm, or the water that was filling the boat.

You see there are many levels of questions and answers in these six verses, but to me the thing that stood out, was the grouping of words, they took Him with them.  You will find these words in verse 36.

I would think you have at some point, maybe not tonight, but at some point in your life, have thought if Jesus were here in the flesh, I wouldn’t have to deal with this.  If I was a disciple I wouldn’t have been questioning Jesus, and who He was, or why I am following Him.  No, I would never be like Peter and deny Him three times, never, that’s Jesus! 

I know I have said all of those things, and many more.  I have cast judgment on Judas, Matthew, James, Peter and John.  I have wondered how Thomas could doubt Jesus, when Jesus was right in front of Him… and then, I realize I carry a piece of all of these men inside of me. 

I am a doubting Thomas, and I would have to say that is my biggest struggle.  I have been Peter in my life.  I might not have vocally denied Jesus, but I definitely put Him at the bottom of my list.  I have been a liar, a cheat, a back stabber, a fake and have taken what was not mine, so I guess I really can’t wrinkle my face at the disciples for behaving the way they did, even though they took Him with them. 

You see, truth is, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ and have accepted the Holy Spirit into your life, you also take him with you! 

Ah… yes, we see how this comes together for our own lives, or at least a piece of it. 

We will all have storms, large, small, quick, and lengthy and some might devastate us and up root us like an old tree, or some might just come and blow some things around.  We never know the magnitude of the storm, but what we do know is that there will be storms. 

When a storm hits, like the physical one I had mentioned before, why did it take me so long to reach out to God.  Why did I need to see the physical manifestation of the storm before me, and feel threatened to react? 

I think, like the disciples, we never truly believe the storm, the lie, the threat; the disaster is going to happen, until it does.  We see the warning signs, we see the threats of here comes a big problem, but yet we don’t properly prepare for these moments in our lives.

Personally, I think it has to do with pride, and I think it also has to do with not accepting, verbalizing and then fighting back against satan, the one who is sending the attacks.

You see Jesus was super calm, peaceful and sleeping in the boat because satan does not bring fear to Jesus’s heart.   Satan is not a threat to Jesus, so He can rest calmly in the midst of a storm, while on the other hand, us, and the disciples are losing ourselves in fear, because satan is a threat to us. 

Satan is a true, living, pulsing, threatening force that wants to end you, your relationship with Jesus, and all that you are.  Satan wants to keep you in darkness and in fear, and how would he go about doing that, by putting you in a threatening position.

Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy and nothing else.  He doesn’t come to mess you about to help you, he comes to destroy you, and anything good that is in your life. Oh, and he will blame Jesus for the destruction, while he is at it.

We need to be more aware of the fact that we do have an enemy roaming about like a lion, trying to destroy anything that we are doing in the name of God.  Anything good, feels good, is good, is helping another person, or advancing you in anyway is going to be under attack.  Satan is going to find that loop hole, and he is going to start chiseling away at you, your mind and your surroundings, hence the storm while Jesus was in the boat.

We are just like the disciples, where Jesus was right there, He was in touching distance for them, and within hearing distance for us, but yet, we allow our pride and ignorance take over, and before we know it the storm is threatening us and our safety, whether physical or mentally, it is something we are now afraid of. 

I believe that Jesus was so annoyed with the disciples, and sometimes us, because He has shown Himself to be true.  He has shown Himself to be loyal, to be faithful and to be extremely protective over His sheep, you and me.   So if He has shown us all of these things, why would we not call on Him, or rebuke the storm ourselves, at the first sight of danger?

I see Jesus’s side on this.  I would be upset as well, if my family or friends were in danger/need and didn’t call on me,  I would wonder why they didn’t ask for help, or why didn’t they come to me right away, I’d always be there for them. 

Jesus did His thing, and once again, tried to show the disciples, and us, that He is the first thing we need to reach out to when we are in trouble.  He is the first name we need to speak when we see a storm coming, and we need to do it quickly.  

When Jesus rebuked the storm, and told the storm to hush, He was showing us that He is the one in control, not satan.   Satan brought on that storm to bring fear to the hearts and minds of the disciples, that they would possibly perish in the storm, but the disciples spoke the name of Jesus, and He was there.

He was there for them, and He will be there for us.  You see in verse 36 where we see They took Him with them.  This is good for all of us.  We take Him with us wherever we go.  We take Him to bed, to work, to the gym, to the grocery store, we take Him everywhere.

We don’t physically need to see Jesus to know that He is there.  We know He is there because we asked Him to be there.  Because He loves us, and He is with us to protect us, comfort us and guide us into all truth. 

Next time you have a storm in your life, whether it be big or small, call on Jesus.  Take a moment to think of Him, and how He can help you in your time of need.  Just like Jesus silenced the waters, and brought immediate peace to the disciples, He will do the same for you. 

You can allow satan to send the storms and try to, kill, steal and destroy you or; you can do the right thing, and call on your Heavenly Father to come and calm the waters!! 

Sleeping and Rising... Sleeping and Rising...

I have never been interested in farming or gardening.   I personally have not found the joy in those things, but I am grateful for those who do.   Though Agriculture is not something I am interested in as an occupation, the wonder of it is intriguing to me.

In Mark 4:26-31 we see how Jesus is comparing the Kingdom of God to a farmer planting a field.

Mark 4:26 And He said, The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground.  (27) And then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases – he knows not how. (28) The earth produces (acting) by itself – first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (29) But when the grain is ripe and permits, immediately he sends forth (the reapers) and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready.

We are all familiar with the mustard seed verse, and I am sure at some point you have heard of how Jesus uses parables to discuss the kingdom of God.  This time, as I was reading these verses, I kept thinking how it all comes back to faith. 

Faith to me is like the rain that the farmer needs to nourish his seeds into crops; and faith is what we need to allow God to nourish us into mature Christians.

In the first verse of Mark 4, verse 26 Jesus is saying that a farmer will spread his seed upon the ground.   I believe this is like us.  God will spread His seed, the word, on us.  We will be around people who speak of God, about God or we might even read about God ourselves, but that doesn’t mean our faith has come to completion, or has matured in Him.

Verse 27 we see that the farmer walks away from the seeds that he has thrown on the ground.  The farmer rests, and allows the earth to do its job to nurture, fertilize and grow the seeds that he has spread.    The farmers hope, desire and faith, is that the seeds will produce a harvest.    

You see that there is  a period of time that goes by, and the time is not mentioned.  There is no mention of the period of time and how long it is before the farmer sees the results of his planting.

This is, I believe, where we get into trouble, well at least I do.  The waiting, oh my, the waiting! 

This is the time where the enemy hits you hard.  This is when satan and his demons are asking you where’s God now?  What happened to the promises God has given you?  Why hasn’t anything happened?  God doesn’t love you?   These are just some of the things that satan tries to throw at me, while I am waiting for my harvest.

If we look back to verse 27 we will see what the farmer did, he continued sleeping and rising, sleeping and rising.  It says he did this night and day while the seed sprouts, grows and increases.  This is exactly what we are to be doing as well.

When we are in the waiting period, just as the farmer, we are to continue our lives as they were, before the promise was given, the prayer was prayed or the seed was planted.   Jesus doesn’t give us a set period of time here, because it’s going to be different for everyone and everything, but the behavior, the act of faith remains the same.

I really enjoy the last statement in verse 27, he knows not how.  The farmer doesn’t know how the seeds are flourishing, he just knows, believes, has faith that they are.  This for me is beyond difficult!!

That statement in verse 27, I believe refers to reasoning, understanding, allowing our minds to wander, to come up with a plan of attack or a solution to the situation.   This is where I allow the enemy into my mind, and where I need to do my strongest battle.  

We know that God works in ways we will never understand, even if He was to explain how everything worked and came together, we still wouldn’t understand.  Why is that? Because He is God.  His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. 

God works in the dark, in secret, and then reveals things to us in the light.  Just like the seeds that are being cultivated under the earth, in the dark, God is working for you in the dark, in His secret places.  

Though we want to know, we need not know.

This is extremely hard for me to let go of, and I fail miserably at this every single day!  I am a person who has control issues, stemming from my abusive childhood, so asking to trust someone, even God, is hard for me, but what’s harder is asking me to not understand how, when, where or why!

My faith grows in the not knowing.  My faith and trust grows in the times of the unanswered why, when, how, why or where.   In those times, God is asking me to just have faith in Him, and His word. 

To simply believe. 

And while that statement brings joy and hope to my heart, when I am faced with the challenge of just believing, and not trying to understand reason, or resolve the situation in my own way, I am in fear and circling my emotions, with the loss of control.

But we see what happens to the farmer in verse 28.  The earth produces by itself!  The earth produces, and produces to completion.  The seed first becomes a blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.   Jesus is the earth in this verse.  Jesus produces, just as the earth has produced. 

Jesus took the seed, of His word and planted it into the heart of His child, us, and then produced a harvest from that seed.   This harvest can look like many things.  This harvest can be anything from a job, to healing, to wisdom, to patience, to a relationship repaired.   A harvest always looks different, feels different, and comes at different times, but a harvest is always delivered when you stand in faith that He will deliver on His word, or His seed.

Our relationship with God is often compared to the cultivation of a seed, from the farmer’s hands the seed travels and then returns back to the farmer’s hands in form of a harvest.  

We are daily filled with the word (seed) of God.  We are fed, nourished, ripened, fertilized and harvested from the words of God, and that’s how He intended it to be.

He intended for us to not see His work before us, but to keep His words before us, in us and on our lips.  We don’t need to know how the seed brings forth a harvest, all we need to know, is that it will!

I don’t need to know how God is going to deliver on His promises; all I need to know is that He will!  He will deliver because, I have faith in Him.  I have faith, that the Man I know, in my heart, in my mind and in my Bible, is a Man who cannot lie.  He is a Man who cannot mislead; He is a Man who will not mislead me. 

When I take the time to learn about the character traits of Jesus, of God and of the Holy Spirit, I am setting myself free from reasoning, controlling and handling every facet of my life.  I am acting like the farmer and I am sleeping, rising, sleeping, rising and know not how He does it, but just that He will!

 

Pursuing Him...

Are you pursuing God, or is He pursuing you?

This tug and pull that we are in with God, is very much like a relationship we enter in with the opposite sex, or the person we are inclined to date romantically.   It’s very familiar to the chase of dating.

I personally have never been good at dating, the chase or the “game” of it.

In Mark 1:36 we see one sentence in this verse, that once again, struck a chord with me.  It made me think this is what we are to be doing.

Mark 1:36 And Simon (Peter) and those who were with him followed Him (pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out).

Again, this resonates with me, because this is what I am supposed to be doing with God.  This is what we all are supposed to be doing with God.  We are to be pursuing HIM!!!  We are to be eagerly hunting Him out, and finding Him!

Wow.  Just Wow.

How could I have missed this?  How could I have not known, seen, recognized or paid attention to the fact that just as much as God is seeking me, I am to be seeking Him.

I know in the Bible we often see the phrasing that we are to “seek” God.  We are to Seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness, and then these things will be added unto me. 

But how foolishly of me to think this but I didn’t realize I was to pursue Him.  I didn’t realize they weren’t the same thing, until tonight, when I am reading Mark, and I see verse 36 and it’s like the light bulb went off and I thought, this is what I am doing wrong, I am not pursuing God.

I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised I am not pursuing God, I’ve never pursued a man before, but I guess that is going to change.

Could you imagine if this is what is stopping you, or me from entering into His calling for us?  That this is the one thing, one phrase, and one concept that satan was hiding from me that is keeping me distant from God.

I would hear almost every day, over and over in my head Seek Me, and I thought that I was and didn’t understand why I kept hearing it.  Now, I will say, in my defense the Seek Me did go away, when I began to diligently Seek Him.  If I go to long without having my time with God, I will once again start hearing Seek Me, and I know that God is calling me, and it’s been to long between our times together.

I am going to pursue Jesus.  I am going to eagerly pursue Jesus.  I am going to eagerly learn about Jesus, and who He is, and understand Him on a deeper level, and I am going to do it with a willing heart and mind. 

I know that I can get caught up in my own life, and the activities of the day, and before I know it, I am tired and ready for bed, and I don’t give God the time He deserves.   I think this is connected to the pursue Me idea. 

I know that in an intimate relationship, I want to be pursued.  I want to be chased, so to speak.  I want to have someone put in the extra effort it takes to get to know me, to get past the surface information, and really get to know me, and what is important and vital in my life.

I want to be pursued. 

I want to be the person’s best friend, champion, first thought and last thought.  I want to be the thing that makes him smile, and the thing that brings him joy.  I want to be pursued not only mentally, but emotionally and spiritually. 

I believe this is what Jesus is asking us to do.  Jesus is asking us to put Him first.  To be the person who occupies our mind, our time, our thoughts and our hearts.  I believe that Jesus wants to be the one thing that we can count on and we can run too whenever we need, and the only way to do those things, to come to that place, is to pursue Him.

I am sure that I am writing this more for myself than for anyone else, but to me understanding, or beginning to understand that Jesus wants me to pursue Him, is eye opening and possibly life changing for me.

I’ve often wondered how the disciples had such intimate relationships with Jesus, and as we see some of them had deeper relationships than others did, and I am willing to bet the ones that had a deeper relationship with Jesus, are the ones who pursued Him.

I know that Jesus has been pursing me for over thirty years, and the diligence He has put into knowing me, and showing me who He is, it’s time for me to start giving Him what He has already given me. 

We are told to pursue peace, to pursue happiness, pursue truth, well if we would just pursue Jesus, we would be pursing all of those things, because that is His character.  Those things we are to pursue are all found in the one thing that should be at the top of our list to pursue, and that is Jesus Christ!

Mark 1:36 reads And Simon (Peter) and those who were with him followed Him (pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out).

I am taking a page from Simon Peter, and I am going to start pursuing Him, eagerly!!